


Before Ultron

by zepper3



Category: Age of Ultron - Fandom, Avengers, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-16
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-03-30 20:45:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3951133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zepper3/pseuds/zepper3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pietro and Wanda Maximoff have always wanted one thing- revenge on Tony Stark. Years after their parents are killed Pietro meets a young journalist, and now he finds himself falling for a foreign girl. But so many variables can make this go wrong,:war, revenge, loyalty and betrayal. *Pietro and Wanda are born mutants in this.*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. They were 19

Pietro loved being a big brother- even if it was only by 12 minutes. He would tease Wanda all the time about 'I'm the oldest' and it would simply drive her mad. He would always joke with her, but after the shell hit their house and killed their parents- he joked a little less.

He remembers every second of that horrible day. They woke up and had breakfast as usually- talked about their upcoming day. Their father was reading the paper and mumbling about the violence that was happening within their country. Pietro and Wanda didn't pay attention to it- they were only 12. Both of them adopted by the Maximoff's when they were 2, they had no idea who their real parents were.

They were getting ready upstairs when they heard a loud boom and everything shook. Scared out of their wits they ran downstairs for their parents.

"No go in the cellar!" their mother yelled at them. They didn't know why but they obeyed. They ran into the kitchen and then down the stairs into a cold dark place that they would be stuck in for two days.

Pietro tried to comfort his sister as she cried at the unknown above- he himself was completely terrified. The entire place shook- a force blew open the wooden cellar door throwing the twins to the furthest back wall. Knocking them both out.

Waking up he look in front and his heart stopped. Right in front of he and his sister was a bomb shell. It was just lying there in front of them.

"Wanda," he whispered. His sister was right beside him- laying on the ground. "Don't move Wanda." He warned her- not sure if she was conscience or not. He could feel the rubble laying on him and his sister. He was too afraid to move, he was afraid something might set it off.

They were swallowed in darkness, the only thing that he could see was the bomb from the sliver of light that was pushing itself through the cracks of a fallen wall. All he saw was the name Stark Industries on the side of the bomb. Pietro knew in his heart his adoptive family was dead- and whoever this Stark was, they were responsible for it.

They weren't found for two days. By that time both he and Wanda swore to find this Stark and kill him.

Pietro thought about this while on the park bench, he thought about their past and how they have been in a rut ever since that day. They were 19, orphaned for 7 years, constantly on the run from the police considering they basically stole everything they ate, not to mention that their powers had simply gone off the charts.

His sister and he discovered they had powers not long after their parents died. After they were pulled from the rubble they were sent to foster care even though none of them lasted more than a few months. One day Pietro had stolen a pie from the nearby bakery and had the owner chase after him. Running with the pie in his hands he could feel himself going faster, whizzing though people like it was nothing. Faster he went until he could barely see his legs. When he finally stopped he was 4 miles outside of the town.

Wanda found out her power a day after he did. They were playing a card game in the streets when playing a card game. He had slipped an ace up his sleeve without (or so he thought) Wanda even knowing. After a few minutes he let him know.

"That ace up your sleeve isn't going to help you Pietro." She smirked. He played dumb.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He acted like he was offended.

"It's up your sleeve- give it here." She motioned towards her and the card flew out of his sleeve and to her. It levitated in the air surrounded by red light.

Thinking about their childhood filled him with different emotions, happiness, frustration, and anger. He tried to let it not go to his head- along with his quickness came a very short temper.

For the last couple of weeks they had been staying in an abandon apartment building that was being built outside of the city. There was a routine that they would follow: wake up, go out before the construction workers came, get foot and anything else they needed, come back and rest. Pietro found the repetitiveness of the days rather boring. He liked doing things that were in the unknown- he like being reckless. Wanda didn't seem to like it as much as he did.

Now he was sitting in the park- his favorite place to go, doing nothing. He fidgeted with his hands like he always did looking at anyone who passed by.

He envied some of the people who walked by- those children with parents, all happy and playing. He had been through enough grief to last him at least three lifetimes.

"Pietro," he heard his sister come up to him.

"Yes?"

"I think I have a lead…" she said softly. He knew what she was talking about. Every waking moment they had they had spent trying to locate Stark and kill him. Even though Pietro himself had made peace with his adoptive parent's death- he still wanted Stark to die.

The technology in their country was limited so it took a while for them to get all of the information they needed. What they had so far was they the head of the company- Tony Stark- had taken over the company after his father died in an automobile accident. He had been in the news recently because he built a flying suit which he called 'Iron Man'.

However from what they could find since Tony had made the announcement Stark had been under constant press and security. Plus they had no way to even get to New York.

"What do you have?" He was eager.

"Stark just announced that he is traveling to Germany while on his press tour." She said with a blank face. "He'll be there on from July 21st to the 23rd." It was the 5th, they had over two weeks to plan. The sudden realization of an opportunity to kill Stark made Pietro's chest tight.

"Good, we'll have time to plan." Pietro said so softly he wasn't even sure if Wanda heard it.

"I'll meet back at the apartment, I'm going to get some supplies." She turned and walked away leaving Pietro by the bench he was sitting on.

Pietro looked out into the park, the sun was setting painting the sky a light orange and pink. Pietro sat down and looked out into the sky feeling numb.

Germany was someplace he knew would eventually visit, but not really sure when or if he would be ready for it. Since he was Jewish Germany was someplace that was a living hell to his people. Millions of them died, experiments preformed on them like they were lab rats- the thought always made him sick.

After a while taking time to himself he started back to the apartment building. He wouldn't run through town unless he absolutely had to- his running would disrupt too many people in their daily routine.

Walking through the streets he was cautious, since the country was at war people had thought that meant you get a free pass of: Hey I can do whatever I want now. Pietro walked fast and kept his head down- he almost didn't stop when he heard the scream.

It took him a few seconds to register the scream. As soon as he stopped he didn't hear a thing. He almost took another step when he heard another one. Following the scream he ran down an ally to see a shadow over someone holding up their hand.

"Please, stop…" from the voice Pietro could tell was a woman. "I'm sorry." She wheezed.

"You don't get to be sorry." The man yelled and kicked her while she was down. Pietro felt his blood rush in anger.

"Hey," Pietro yelled and the man turned around. He didn't waste a second and sprinted towards the man knocking him over as he passed by. The man flew into the wall and slid down.

"What the hell?" the man yelled and shot back up.

"What I gave you a warning." Pietro ran up in the man's face and smiled. The man pulled back his arm ready to punch but he was too slow. Pietro blocked it ran around him and then punch him on the side of his face. Then man yelled in pain and fell backwards. His eyes got big and then he ran off. Pietro smirked to himself and stood over the girl.

"Are you okay?" bending down he held out his hand, he didn't want her to see him as a threat.

"You… just ran…" she stuttered. From her accent Pietro could tell she was not from here.

"Yes, I know let's just get you up." He brushed his super-human abilities aside. She reluctantly grabbed his hand and he pulled her up. In the light of a street lamp he could see that her cloths were ripped and falling off of her body. "Let me get you home safely." He tried to put his arm around her but he saw her flinch and pull back. He immediately pulled his arm back and walked close to her. "Where do you live?"

"Just go down the road and to the right- I'm in a small apartment right now." Her voice trembled, Pietro could feel her whole body shaking beside him.

"Is there anything you want me to do? Call someone or get you something?" he offered.

"No, I don't really know anyone here; I'm just here for a couple of months." She answered softly. Pietro's heart sank a little, it had to be hard not knowing anyone here. They turned to the right and walk to a small building with an iron fence in front with a huge padlock on it.

"Well you know one person now- Pietro Maximoff." He held out his hand. The girl took it reluctantly and shook it.

"Lottie, I'm from America," she kept her head down. Pietro's stomach did a slight turn- America was not his favorite country. First off- Stark was from there, and plus America always got into fights they had no business in being in. He didn't want to judge her off of what country come from though.

"It's nice to meet you Lottie." He smiled. She got a key out of her pocket and opened the iron fence.

"Thank you… Pietro." She gave a weak smile through the gate. He bowed his head a bit and she opened the door to the left and he heard a click of a lock. He was satisfied she was safe. He stood for a second more and then took back off towards the abandoned apartment building he was living in.

When he finally arrived back at the building Wanda was waiting for him with a plate of food that looked like a bird.

"Why are you so late?" Wanda asked- she wasn't being mean about it, but she was genially wondering where he had been.

"I had to, help someone." He said simply.

"Did they see you?" she stressed. Ever since they discovered their powers they had laid down some ground rules: no using powers in front of people unless it's a life or death situation, no powers to impress someone, no powers to get revenge (unless you're Tony Stark) - the list went on.

"Yes, she did." Pietro stuffed the mystery dinner in his mouth.

"She?" Wanda gasped. "You let a girl see you use your powers? Pietro we talked about this-"

"She was in trouble." Pietro interrupted. He looked down at his sister, even though she was a good 3 inches shorter than him, he knew not to test her. "Some guy was beating her Wanda- I couldn't just let that happen."

"Pietro, I'm happy you saved her. You have to be careful though- you know people who love to get ahold of us." She explained. One of their shared fears is that they would be taken and experimented on like lab rats.

"I know, but if it were you I would want someone to help, even if it put them in danger." Pietro hugged her.

"You know I can take care of myself." Wanda smirked and pulled away, she sat down and ate her bird thing.

"I know," Pietro smiled. "I'm going to bed. And can I ask what this is?" Pietro held up the lump of meat on his plate.

"I think it'd be better if you didn't." Wanda gulped and shivered.

Pietro took one more bite of the bird and went to his bed. It was a make-shift hammock strung between two steel beams. His 'room' was a little corner that had a backpack, a pile of cloths, extra blankets, some books he had acquired over the years, cards, dice, extra shoes and finally a picture of him and Wanda from when they were young.

Pietro smiled to himself and lifted himself into the hammock and slowly fell asleep with the image of stars overhead.


	2. Who We Are

Pietro wasn’t going to lie- he was looking for Lottie after the night he met her. Partly because he wanted to make sure that she was safe, and also she was really pretty.  
Over the years both he and Wanda had had their flings with people. Pietro would buy a girl a cup of coffee and Wanda would make sure she was a good person (that may or may not have involved getting into their head). Wanda would go to dinner with a guy and Pietro would make sure that they knew that if they ever did something to her that she wasn’t comfortable with then he would end them; so far he’s only had to kidnap 2 guys so far. They ended up hanging from a tree by their pants with duct tape around their mouth.  
But Pietro knew with this girl it would be different, first of all she had seen that he was a mutant with superhuman speed and two was that she had already been assaulted and he didn’t want her to think he was going to hurt her.  
Pietro strolled through town looking in store windows, there were pies, toys, and cloths- everything anyone could want was just on this street. As he passed a family he saw a teenager complaining to his mother. Pietro’s heart sunk a little- he knew that kids could complain- only because they didn’t know what it was like not to have parents. When his adoptive parents were alive, sure he would give them a hard from now and then, but what kid doesn’t? Looking back on his time with them he wished he would have done some things differently.  
“Pietro?” the sound of his name snapped him out of his thought. He turned to see Lottie who was smiling. He smiled back and walked over to her.  
“Hey Lottie, how are you?” he made sure to give her some personal space.  
“Much better thank you,” she smiled. “I just wanted to thank you for what you did last night. I don’t even want to think about what might have happened if you weren’t there.”  
“Well you won’t even have to know what might have happened.” He liked her. You want to take a walk if you’re not busy?” he asked cautiously.  
“Sure, I haven’t seen much of the country lately.” She walked beside him. Now Pietro’s ‘walking’ was like a light jog for other, but he made sure to keep his pace slow for her.  
“So may I ask why you are so far away from home?” he asked. It surprised him someone from America had even heard of Transia. They were small, didn’t have any major thing to set them apart from everywhere else. The only thing that they did have that brought the war was a raging hatred towards communism.  
Transia laid in between 3 countries- Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. Ever since WW2 ended their country had been teetering between calm and chaos. A couple of years they would be a democracy and then their leader would fall under the influence of communism. It was a simple chaos that everyone in the country had learned to deal with; that was until America had decided to butt in. Since war had broken out in the Middle East and part of Europe, America had decided it would be there duty to stitch it all together- and they did one crappy job of it. Since then Transia had fallen into utter chaos and a horrible economic depression. Pietro couldn’t really remember a time when there wasn’t war going on.  
“My parents allowed me to travel after my first year of college. I’m majoring in English- more specifically journalism- and they thought it would be good to see the world differently.” She started. “They thought it’d be good for me to see what different countries feel like, different cultures. I was traveling with an old friend, who you have met.” She inferred the man that was beating her. “It’s fun, until he gets drunk. That night he had gambled away all of his money and called his parents for more, they refused. And he got drunk and took it out on me…” her voice shook.  
“Let’s not focus on that,” Pietro attempted to get her mind off of what happened. “You’re looking at your own personal guide of Transia.” He smirked. Lottie held out her arm so he could ‘lead the way’. He gladly took ahead as she followed him.  
The rest of the afternoon was filled with laughing, touring and talking. Pietro shared as much of his life that he thought was safe to, which mainly was telling Lottie about how he was adoptive and he had no idea who his parents were and how his sister and he mainly only had each other. She told him about the countries she had visited so far: Chile, Great Britain, Spain, Greece, and even South Africa.  
“You’re parents want you to see the world huh?” He commented, it must have been amazing to see different parts of the world.  
“I guess,” her head went down a bit.  
“Why do you say it like that?”  
“I mean it’s amazing to see the world, it’s amazing to meet different people- like you. But it feels like they don’t want me in the house. They have always been a little distance, they always had me going places without them.” She explained. Pietro could relate, basically having no one for his teenage years. He couldn’t really remember anything that happened before he was 6 years old.  
“God I’m basically telling my life story to a guy I just met.” Lottie laughed it off.  
“I think I’m a pretty good guy to tell your life story to.” Pietro answered.  
“I’ll give you that.”  
“May I ask how long you are staying?”  
“I’m here for another 3 weeks and then I’m off to St. Petersburg in Russia.” Lottie seemed a little hesitant to tell him.  
“Well I hope the next 3 weeks will be great for you. Transia is a small but beautiful country.” Pietro wanted to spend more time with her- she was nice, she was a little quirky.  
“I hope you can make them great.” Lottie flirted. Pietro nearly stopped in his tracks.  
“I will t-try my best.” Pietro stuttered. She was so direct and down-to-earth, she was fast and sassy just like him- he wanted to see more of her.  
~  
Lottie and Pietro spent the nearly two weeks hanging out. Each day they would meet in the square and walk around. Pietro would tell her about the history of Transia, she would take notes and pictures; she would tell him about the countries she had visited. The stories fascinated Pietro, and Lottie’s way of telling them drew him in and kept him interested.  
Their friendship grew fast and strong; she was one of those people you didn’t need to impress, she was just happy to be in company of someone.  
Pietro had a feeling he hadn’t had in a while; a feeling of content. He was sleeping better, he was looking forward to the day, he was just happy to finally talk to someone other than the few people he knew in the town or Wanda.  
Even after several days Lottie said how her ‘friend’ that had beaten her was taken into custody by the police for public intoxication and disturbance. He begged her to bail him out and help him; she claimed she had no idea who the strange man was- Pietro didn’t stop laughing at that for 5 minutes. Lottie was sly and creative, she reminded Pietro of his mother.  
“Can I ask you a personal question?” Lottie asked one day.  
“Shoot,” Pietro answered but cautiously. He had told her little of his personal life and of his sister- he trusted her but not that much.  
“May I ask you how you go your powers?” She put the pen and pad down beside her. Usually she would have it glued to her hand writing down everything that Pietro told her; this was a way to show him that this was a secret that remained between friends.  
“I didn’t obtain them- I was born with them.” Pietro kept his voice down. He and Lottie were sitting on a fountain edge outside of the town square. The heat had increased and they like the coolness that the water brought. “My adoptive parents never knew about them- hell I didn’t know about them until after…” he stopped himself.  
“You don’t have to explain, I was just wondering.” Lottie understood. That was the last time she brought it up.  
Every day Pietro would spend with Lottie he came back home a little later each time. Wanda tried to pretend it didn’t bother her but Pietro could tell it was eating her on the inside. He thought she was just jealous that he made a friend- Wanda was always so secretive and wary of the outside world. Pietro was always up in the air just going with the flow, he worked well in chaos; Wanda however wanted control, she worked better in a scheduled environment- they were polar opposites but they worked together perfectly.  
Without Pietro even realizing it the day to attack Stark was slowly creeping up. He didn’t notice until Wanda mentioned it one day to him.  
“You remember we’re leaving for Germany in a week right?” Wanda mentioned one night after Pietro got back late again.  
“Oh… I forgot about that.” Pietro said in between bites of the pie he had stolen earlier that day.  
“You forgot?” Wanda sounded hurt. Pietro looked at her and saw the rage that filled her eyes. “You forgot the date where we are supposed to avenge our parents? Get revenge on the man who created the weapons that destroyed our country? You forgot about that?!” Wanda’s rage was expressed through red waves that showed themselves by picking up things laying around the apartment building.  
“I’m sorry! It’s not like I’m counting down the days.” Pietro stood up to face her. His temper was quick and Wanda knew that. “It’s not the first thing that has been on my mind.”  
“That girl has.” Wanda poked at him. Even though Wanda and he were very close they didn’t go without their fights.  
“Lottie has nothing to do with this.” Pietro warned her.  
“Ever since you’ve been seeing her you’ve been distracted.” Wanda’s eyes turned a shade of red.  
“Last time I checked you are not a mother.” Pietro felt his chest vibrating.  
“We’ve been thinking about this since they died Pietro! Stark is going to be there and this may be the only time we have to kill him!” Wanda screamed, the plate Pietro had been eating off of flew and hit a nearby wall.  
“I don’t have killing someone always on my mind!” he yelled back, he didn’t care if the whole city heard him. His heart was beating faster and faster, blood rushed to his face. “It’s nice to hear something from someone that isn’t always depressing!”  
“Told you she was a distraction!” Wanda sneered.  
“I can’t deal with you right now.” Pietro held his head. He learned over the years that his powers came with some bad consequences, one included that his blood would pump so vigorously that it would cause him to pass out.  
“We need to focus on this Pietro,” Wanda brought her volume down. “We leave in 5 days.”  
Pietro barely nodded. He felt his heartbeat slowing down, he took breaths in and out, deep and slow just like he had taught himself.  
“I’m going to bed.” Pietro went over to his hammock and laid down- he could feel the sweat dripping down his back. He knew he shouldn’t blame Wanda, she was more upset about their parent’s death, and she’s the one who had the most thirst for revenge. Yes Pietro was sad and furious at his parent’s death but Wanda lost their mother who she was the closest with.  
Pietro finally got his heart rate down to normal. The hot sticky air made it hard to fall asleep but Pietro managed it by retelling himself the stories Lottie had told him.


	3. An Odd Request

After waking up to a clear morning Pietro had the oddest request from his sister.  
“I was to meet this Lottie.” Wanda said as Pietro got ready for the day. Pietro almost spit out the water that he was using to brush his teeth.   
“May I ask why?” Pietro chocked a bit.  
“You obviously like this girl, I want to make sure she is good for you.” Wanda brushed her hair. It seemed like the fight never happened.   
“It’s not like we’re going to be together for much longer.” Pietro poked at the fact that they were leaving in 5 days and he didn’t know how long they were going to be gone.   
“Well I want to make sure she’s a good person.” Wanda pulled her hair up.   
“Then let’s go.” Pietro ran down the apartment building in less than 4 seconds. Wanda followed in the minute that followed.   
“You know that’s not funny.” Wanda was holding back a little smile. Pietro had been doing it since they find out they had powers- tell her to go somewhere and get there before her always.   
“Well Lottie doesn’t like waiting.” Pietro smiled.   
“Just like you.” Wanda walked beside him. Pietro took the route that he always did and explained to Wanda who Lottie exactly was and how their friendship had grown since that night. It only took a couple of minutes until and they saw writing in her book as always.  
“Lottie!” Pietro called out, Lottie’s face lit up and she waved. Lottie looked to the side and saw Wanda and drew back a bit but still had a friendly look on her face.   
“What did you tell her about me?” Wanda whispered.   
“Only the things you would want her to know.” Pietro whispered back quickly.  
“Does she know?” Wanda referred to her powers.  
“No, she only knows I do.” Pietro ran up and gave Lottie a hug.   
“Lottie, this is my sister Wanda.” Pietro introduced them. 

“It’s not to finally meet you.” Lottie stuck out her hand.   
“It’s a pleasure.” Wanda hesitated and shook Lottie’s hand. Pietro could feel the tension in the air growing.   
“Lottie, there’s one place I haven’t shown you yet.” Pietro had been saving this place till a day he really needed it- and today was that day.   
“Is it…” Wanda started.   
“Yes,” Pietro nodded his head. Wanda knew the place he was talking about. It was a beautiful old church that sat on top of a mountain outside of the city. It had been Wanda’s and Pietro’s favorite thing in the whole city.   
“Well let’s go!” Lottie yelled. Pietro smiled and led the way with Lottie and Wanda trailing behind.   
As they walked through the city, Pietro could here Wanda questioning Lottie like a drill sergeant.   
“Why did you come to Transia?” Wanda curiously asked. Not going to lie Pietro had been asking himself that.  
“My parents suggested it after the news about the war here. I researched the history and the country seems interesting.” Lottie explained. She had been taking pictures of the landscape and old buildings that Pietro had gotten used to, he hadn’t taken time to notice how beautiful actually were.   
“What are you going to do with the information you get from traveling?” Wanda didn’t even react to Lottie’s answer.   
“Well I hope to write a paper about at least one of the countries I visited for a thesis paper. I think I’m going to choose this one; it has been the most interesting and most… fulfilling out of all my travels.” Lottie shot a glance at Pietro who saw it out of the corner of his eye. He could tell it made Wanda uncomfortable as she sifted away from Lottie in the slightest.   
“There it is.” Pietro went back to Lottie. He put his hand on her back cautiously. Lottie looked up and saw what he was pointing at and she drew in a breath.  
“It’s beautiful.” Lottie didn’t even reach in her bag to pull out her camera. “Are we allowed to get closer?”   
“If you’re with me you can.” Pietro grabbed her hand and led her up the mountain. Wanda had to jog to keep up with them.   
Reaching the base of the building was no problem and the look on Lottie’s face was the only reward that Pietro needed.   
“You like this?” Pietro smiled at her amazement.   
“It’s just so old and beautiful. Think about all the stories that happened here.” Lottie let go of his hand and walked closer, finally pulling out of her camera and taking a few pictures. Wanda trailed her a bit as she was taking pictures. Pietro looked at the huge church.  
“Do you want to go inside?” He yelled at Lottie who eagerly nodded her head. Pietro took her by the hand and lead her inside. They opened the double wooden doors that lead into a huge room. Lottie looked like she was in heaven.   
“Pietro… it’s beautiful.” She could barely find the words.  
“Isn’t it?” Pietro looked around and then back at Lottie. He saw Wanda in the doorway looking bitter.   
“One moment,” Pietro turned and rushed over to Wanda. “What is your deal?”  
“There’s something not right about her,” Wanda mumbled.   
“The fact that she’s actually with us? Do you just not like company?” Pietro was furious at his sister.   
“No, it’s just something is off…” Wanda stared at Lottie. Pietro rolled his eyes and went back to Lottie.   
“Let me show you more,” Pietro walked Lottie down the stairs and into some of the rooms. He walked her around showing her the things he had found over the years of exploring this magnificent place.   
“God I wish I could just take this place with me wherever I go. Pictures don’t seem to do it justice.” Lottie smiled. Her eyes had the galaxy in them, they had wonder. Pietro’s heart filled with happiness.   
“I’ll be right back,” Pietro ran off with his super-human speed to the basement of the building. There were status of old religious beings that the people used to worship. He looked around for the perfect one, and then found it. It was white and stone, the figure was holding a staff and a strangled snake; he wasn’t sure exactly who or what it was but it seemed like something Lottie would like. He ran back up the stairs smiling at the statue he had in his hand.  
He didn’t notice what was happening until he heard Lottie scream.   
“I didn’t mean it!” Lottie screamed. Pietro saw Lottie on the ground with Wanda standing over her. He ran over and carefully put the statue down before looking at Lottie. Her eyes were tinted red and they streamed tears.  
“What did you do?!” Pietro yelled at his sister.  
“I needed to see what she was hiding, and there’s obviously something.” Wanda’s face was emotionless. Usually when Wanda used her powers on someone Pietro didn’t have a problem- they were trying to get information or something. But this was different, this crossed a line that Pietro thought Wanda would never cross.   
“I’m sorry… COME BACK I LOVE YOU …” Lottie yelled at the things inside of her head.   
“Lottie, come back. They’re not there. Whatever you are seeing is not real!” Pietro tried to get her to come back to reality knowing it was hopeless. He knew when Wanda put someone under her spell it would wear off in its own time.  
“She needed to be tested Pietro,” Wanda said plainly. “I knew she was no good for you.”   
“I don’t care if she’s ‘not good for me’. This isn’t about me! She didn’t deserve this to happen to her.” Pietro was trembling with a mix of emotions: fear, anger, frustration, guilt. Pietro quickly put the statue in the bag Lottie always carried her notebooks and camera in; he picked her up as she screamed and cried. “I’m going to take her back,” Pietro looked dangerously stern at his sister. “I suggest you don’t follow.” With that he took off down the mountain.  
He made it back the apartment building Lottie was staying at in less than a minute. He managed to find the key to the building in the mess of Lottie’s bag and opened the gate and let himself inside. At this point Lottie was mumbling to herself gibberish that he couldn’t quite make out.  
He knew that the spell would come to an end soon but he couldn’t leave her. Laying her on her bed with ease Pietro went over to the kitchen to try and find something to help her. The only things in the kitchen were boxes of crackers, a package of meat, cheese, milk, noodles, and what looked like soup. Old pots and pans hung from the walls on hooks. Pietro had never even attempted to cook before but now seemed like a good time to try.  
It seemed simple but Pietro found it horribly complicated- by the end of his first attempt all he had was burnt noodles at the bottom of a pan. The smell itself was enough for Pietro to open all of the windows.   
“Pietro?” a weak voice spoke. Pietro looked and saw Lottie looking at him in a way he didn’t like- it almost looked like she was scared.   
“Lottie I’m-” he rushed towards her but she struggled back. Her breathing was deep and ragged. “I’m so sorry,” Those were the only words he managed to get out.   
“What… what happened?” Lottie sounded like she had just woken up from a dream.   
“Um, I don’t know exactly how to put this but- Wanda basically made you realize your biggest fear.” Pietro didn’t really know how to put it delicately. Lottie thought for a minute and then spoke.  
“So she has powers like you?” she asked.  
“Yes, she was also born with them.” Pietro sighed.  
“She can make people look at their greatest fear?” Lottie sounded absolutely horrified.   
“Not only that but manipulate and destroy objects among other things.” Pietro tried to laugh but Lottie’s face didn’t move from its stone-cold expression.  
“Why did she do it?” Lottie sounded like she was going to cry again. “I didn’t do anything to make her hate me right?”  
“No, it’s just Wanda doesn’t like anyone getting close to us. They end up dead or betraying us.” Pietro’s memories of the back stabbings made him cringe. “She thought you and I were getting too close; she didn’t know if she could trust you or not.” Pietro decided not to mention the whole ‘I think you’re hiding something’ conspiracy that Wanda had. “I swear she usually isn’t like this, yes she’s a little intimidating but…” Pietro couldn’t finish the sentence.   
Looking at Lottie he noticed the silent tears that were rolling down her cheeks. He wanted this to be a great day to show her something beautiful about his country that he loved- instead it turned out to be one of the biggest disasters he had ever been in. Wanda, god he could strangle her right now- he just wanted a nice day with Lottie, she deserved a nice day.  
“I’m so sorry.” Pietro knelt down beside Lottie’s bed and put his hands over his eyes. Not knowing if he was going to cry he just knelt there trying to figure out what was going to happen now.  
“I think you should go.” Lottie finally spoke up. Pietro removed his hands from his eyes and looked at Lottie- who refused to look at him. She got up, avoiding his gaze and opened the door.   
“Lottie- I’m so-”   
“Sorry; you said that.” Lottie interrupted him. “I know, but right now I just need to be alone.”   
Pietro knew in his heart that it was for the best; he did as she demanded. He walked out and heard the door close behind him. His chest felt like it was going to burst, so he did the only thing he knew he could do-run.   
He ran down the stairs and out into the street. He ran down the roads not caring if people saw him and out into the country side; he ran into the fields and past the mountains. He ran until his legs gave out from under him, he fell into the grass, looking around he saw he was in the middle of nowhere.   
The good thing about being in the middle of nowhere is that no one could hear him curse and yell for miles.


	4. Jobs & Snails

Pietro didn’t see Lottie for the next 4 days. He would go their meeting place like they did every day before- but she wasn’t there. He would run around town to try and look for her, but it was to no avail.   
The days following the church incident Pietro could barely look at his sister. He would wake up before she would every morning, spend the day in town just running around trying to keep him mind preoccupied and then he would return at night not saying a word to her; he would just go lay in his hammock and mentally kick himself over and over for what happened that day.   
Now it was the day before they left for Germany, Pietro knew it would be the last time he would see Lottie for a while- if ever. Waking up that day it felt like a brick was sitting on his chest; the sky was gloomy, the drizzle of the rain kept coming and going- the weather seemed to have matched his mood. The sun’s glow behind the cloths had just peaked over the horizon. He felt like utter crap; he had barely eaten or slept in the days following the incident, he would beat himself up over and over again.   
“Pietro,” Wanda came up to him. By this point in time Wanda had figured out how he was avoiding her and tried to talk to him- he wouldn’t say a word. “I know you’re not talking to me, but I wanted to remind you to pack tonight. We are leaving early tomorrow morning to get to Germany on-time.”   
Her saying that made him sick. Lottie was dealing with something she could barely understand and yet the only thing that Wanda could think of was of Germany?! Pietro bit his tongue- he wasn’t going to let Wanda get him to talk. (Yes the silent treatment was childish but it was the only way that Pietro knew how to do).   
As usually he went down into the square where he and Lottie would meet and sat on the fountain. It was way too early in the morning to expect her to come but maybe in a few hours. Over and over again Pietro replayed in his mind the sounds of the screams she had emitted, even though he hated to think about it- was there something dark Lottie wasn’t telling him? Could Wanda be right all along? Pietro sat on the edge of the fountain and thought about this for hours. Slowly the town square filled up but he barely notice. No one gave him a second glance- he just looked like a depressed teenager waiting for something that might never happen.  
Only this time something did happen.  
“Pietro,” he stood up at the sound of Lottie’s voice. Turning around he saw her, she looked beautiful in a way that Pietro had never seen before; as always she had her bag of things, her hair was down to her shoulders- perfectly curled and glossy, the white top she was wearing with black shorts complimented her light caramel brown skin, she had a festive necklace that hung from her neck.  
“Lottie,” he barely spoke. She looked so beautiful, like she was going on some life changing adventure.   
“Wanna take a walk?” she said simply. Her face was unreadable, it looked soft like it used to but there was something behind it- determination? Or was it hatred and grudge? He nodded slightly and she walked wanting him to follow. He was surprise that she weaved through the streets like she had been there her entire life; he kept up although making sure not to walk right beside her.  
After minutes of walking they ended up at the park. The sun was trying to peak out of the clouds but was having a hard time, the park was empty except them two standing in the middle of it.  
“Pietro, you are one weird son of a bitch.” Lottie looked right at him. “You are crazy, secretive, you have fucking powers.” Her voice got very harsh. “But you are still one of the best people I have ever met.” She jumped on him and hugged him. Pietro was so surprised he didn’t know what to do for a second or two, then finally he brain registered what was going on and hugged her back.   
“So what does this mean?” He pulled back after a while and looked at Lottie.   
“This doesn’t mean I’m 100% okay with your sister.” Lottie warned. “What she did to me… it wasn’t natural.”  
“Would it make you feel any better if I said that I haven’t spoken to her since then and that I resent her a bit for what she did?” Pietro tried to make a joke which did get Lottie to giggle a bit.  
“A little,” she smiled. “I would like to continue our tour of Transia some more if you’ll agree.” Pietro’s heart sank a little, this was going to be their last day and he didn’t want it to be filled with things that they aren’t going to remember.   
“Lottie, today is my last day here, I am leaving for Germany tomorrow.” Pietro said plainly. “I cannot tell you the exact reason why, and I wish you would respect that. What I do want is to spend my last day here with you and doing everything and anything we want.” Pietro gave a mini-speech to Lottie.   
“When will you be back?” Lottie stared at him.  
“I don’t know…” Pietro admitted. He didn’t want to tell her that there is a possibility that he might not come back at all.  
“Then let’s make today absolutely amazing.” Lottie smiled and took his hand. He wasn’t sure what they were going to do but he couldn’t wait for it.   
They ran off and did the weirdest things Pietro had ever done, and that was saying something. Lottie took him to a local restaurant where they each picked out the weirdest thing they could find the menu and fed it to each other. Pietro made Lottie try a traditional meal that no one ever like- the Gamlibo. It was a stew that had parts of newts, goats, aged cheese and some other random stuff thrown in there. Lottie took pictures of not only the disgusting stew she agreed to eat but of also Pietro. Lottie had ordered slugs and made Pietro eat 10 of them; after that they both felt like throwing up.  
After the restaurant they ran to all the status in the city and took pictures of themselves with every single one of them. It seemed like they had a bucket list and they didn’t even know what was on it.   
Hours went by and Lottie and Pietro never ran out of energy. They laughed until tears rolled down their cheeks; the day was perfect, until the part where they had to say goodbye. Pietro had ran while carrying Lottie on his back around the city 3 times out of a dare she pinned on him. Arriving at Lottie’s apartment building as their last stop.  
“For someone who seems so innocent who have a lot of dares that aren’t very nice.” Pietro tried to catch his breath. Lottie beamed with pride.  
“I never noticed how pretty this building is.” Lottie looked up. “Aren’t you staying in one like it?”  
“Well we were; but we’re leaving in the morning.” Pietro sighed. The sun had already set and a couple of stars were peeking through the clouds that remained.  
“All the buildings here are pretty.” Lottie commented. The night filled with silence.  
“I must ask-did you keep the statue?” It was a question that had been gnawing at Pietro since he put it in her bag.   
“Yes, and thank you. It’s exactly what I needed to remember this trip.” Lottie smiled shyly. “Oh and I almost forgot.” Lottie pulled out a pen and started writing numbers on Pietro’s hand. “I don’t know if you use phones but if you do, that’s my phone number for when I get back in the states. I’ll be going back home in a month and a half.” She picked up the pen and Pietro looked at the numbers:   
293-553-4932  
“I don’t know if you’ll ever use them but if you ever want to get in touch again.” Lottie looked like she was holding back tears.   
“I don’t want to go to Germany.” Pietro placed his hands on her shoulders.   
“Then don’t,” she whispered.   
“I have a job to do.” He leaned his head against hers.   
“Screw the job.” Lottie tried to laugh. Pietro brought her into his arms and hugged her tight. Honest to god she had been on the greatest friends he had ever made.   
“I will always want to keep in touch,” He whispered. Looking right at her he could tell this was tearing them both apart. Finally he couldn’t take it anymore- he carefully and cautiously placed his lips onto hers.   
Standing there in the middle of the night with her was the best thing he could have imagined. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him a little closer, god he didn’t want to go- but he knew he had to.  
Pietro didn’t know how long they stood there kissing but when they finally pulled away Lottie was holding back tears.   
“I totally saw that coming.” She smirked. She gave him one last hug and then dashed off into her apartment. He stood there for a moment until he knew she was safe in her room.  
The only reason he could tell she was safe is by the gasping between sobs he heard from her window.


	5. Off To Germany

Pietro wasn’t sure if he slept that night or not. He his mind drifted in and out of focus, it’s not like he wanted to think anyway. He packed his backpack with all of this things, he barely even noticed he was even doing it.  
This was another reason to hate Stark; if he didn’t come to Germany on these days Pietro could be spending time with Lottie. The hatred of Stark burned deeper into his heart. He was ready by the time the sun was up; Wanda was ready with her own bag.   
“Ready?” Wanda asked. Pietro nodded, since arriving back since saying goodbye to Lottie, Wanda had barely spoken to him. At this point he would have talked to her, he still hadn’t forgive her, but he would be willing to begin to.   
After days of making a plan, researching and revising, Wanda had created a plan that they would follow to a T.   
The plan was to get on a bus that would take them to the border of their country, from there they would hop on different busses and cars to travel through Belarus, then in once in Poland they would travel by foot to Germany. For some reason people in Poland just wouldn’t give rides to 2 strange teenagers (that they knew from a past experience) so they would just have to go through the country by foot.   
Pietro knew it would take at least a day maybe more to get through Poland. He would run while carrying Wanda as she held the backpacks; from doing this in the past he knew he could run for about 30 minutes and cover nearly 100 miles. Pietro was just thankful that Tony Stark was going to be in Berlin which was on the east side of Germany, they wouldn’t have to go that far into Germany. Between the border of Poland and Berlin it was roughly 474 miles, (or about 763 kilometers); it would take them roughly 8 hours to get to Berlin once they were in Poland. Obviously he needed break in between- by the time they would stop he felt like he got hit by a bus.  
By following this plan they hoped to get there a day before Stark arrived- they needed to rest and get ready to hopefully finally take their revenge.   
Pietro didn’t really remember getting onto the bus and driving out of the country. He looked out of the window as they passed the city; the bus was filled with other random people he didn’t care about. Passing buildings and streets he couldn’t help but think of what he did with Lottie in those streets. Where they laughed, talked, where they took pictures or got yelled at by random people for who knows what.   
Every minute they went a little further he retreated his decision. But how could he say that? He was going to give up a chance of revenge for a girl he met? No he wasn’t. Yes he was. He couldn’t do that to Wanda… but Lottie was amazing and he just left her. His head was starting to hurt. Finally he forced himself to lean his head on the window and sleep- he was going to have to get all of the rest he needed.   
Looking around Pietro saw nothing wrong. He was in the streets of the city he had grown up in, except… they were barren. Fog laid low on the pavement, it was haunting sight, seeing nothing around him.  
“Brother,” he heard Wanda’s voice but he couldn’t see anybody.   
“Pietro,” this time it was Lottie’s voice. Their voices echoed through the empty streets. “You left me…” Lottie’s words were emotionless.   
“I was forced… I needed to go…” Pietro looked around him desperately trying to find Lottie.  
“You had to leave. You need to get Stark.” Wanda’s voice came back in.   
“Yes… I need to get Stark.” Pietro echoed what Wanda had said. Pietro was scanning the streets until he did see something. The figure came closer- he realized it was Lottie.   
“Lottie…” he started and ran towards her. As he drew closer there was something off, he went up and saw her eyes were blood red. “Oh my god.” He mumbled and stepped back.   
“What’s wrong? It was your sister that did this to me.” Lottie smiled sinisterly. “You did the one thing you swore you wouldn’t do- you hurt me.” Pietro gasped for breath.   
“You were going to leave me for her.” Pietro turned and now saw Wanda standing there. Her red waves were flexing all around her, her eyes were also red. “You almost stayed with her and left your only sister behind. You were going to give everything we had dreamed up!” Wanda’s voice rang off the walls.   
Just then Lottie’s scream pierced the air. Looking back Pietro saw the scene he had dreaded- Lottie was on the ground, gripping her head, just as she did when Wanda made her live her fears.   
“Stop it!” Pietro yelled. He backed away from both women, Lottie was on her knees, Wanda standing over her.  
“It was me and you against everything Pietro- and you were going to give that up?” Wanda gasped. “You were supposed to protect us. You’re all I have!” Wanda screamed the last part. Her red waves started to expand picking up the pavement in chunks, the buildings around her started to crumble in the wake of her power.   
“STOP!” Pietro yelled.   
“Pietro!” Wanda shook him awake. He jerked back into his seat. He gasped for his breath as he felt his heart beating hard and fast. She stared at him in confusion but didn’t ask anything about it. “We are in Poland.” Pietro looked out and saw the mountains in the distance.   
“I’m up,” Pietro stretched in his seat. Wanda shoved his backpack into his chest a little harder than usual and got up into the aisle. Everyone was staring at him like he had an extra head or something. He awkwardly nodded his head and followed his sister out of the bus. They were at a border cross- not that Pietro had to worry, Wanda would just fettle with their minds and they would happily cross into Poland.   
The thought made Pietro unsettled, ever since what she did to Lottie it made him think twice about what happened in those people’s minds. He thought about his as he exited the bus, blinded by the sun he guessed that it was late noon, he felt refreshed and ready to run. Walking over to Wanda he saw her chatting with the guard at the gate to go into Poland.   
“Names?” the man ordered. His accent was a bit thicker than Pietro would have thought.   
“Verda and Hugo Barthlow.” Wanda said with ease. Even if she was going to manipulate his mind they wanted no chance of him remembering their names.   
“Passports?” he said without any emotion.   
“You don’t need to see those.” Wanda cooed. Pietro looked down and saw her twisting her hands, she put her hand up to the man’s shoulder and the red waves touched the man’s head and then disappeared. Pietro saw his eyes glow with a tint of red and then it vanished; he nodded to the other officer in the booth and they let them throw the gate.   
As soon as they passed the gate Pietro shifted uncomfortably as he looked back at the guard.  
“What?” Wanda noticed his shiftiness. “You have a problem?”  
“Just don’t use it unless you have to.” Pietro was short with her. Wanda let out a frustrated breath but kept walking. They were in a small town that looked like to be mostly made up by official looking buildings. From the street they were walking on Pietro could see officers in uniforms staring down at them, looking at them in disapproval.   
Pietro could feel the hatred towards outsiders boil in his veins. Usually travelers in this part of the country were looked down upon- that was if you looked like a teenager on the run, which he and Wanda did. Ever since the end of World War 2 Transia had been in silent pain- no one knew about their country, no one really cared for that matter. Not only had their own country been in turmoil, but the Anti-Semitism that once pulsed through Europe like a virus wasn’t gone all the way. Pietro knew the Polish weren’t the blame, in fact neither were the German- it was a group effort by all the European countries and small groups of people that made the Holocaust happen. He could feel the eyes of those who still had bitterness towards his people bore down on him.  
Being lost in his own thought Pietro didn’t notice they were outside of the little military town until he noticed Wanda wasn’t beside him anymore- he had passed her.   
“You seem distracted.” Wanda mentioned.   
“Really?” Pietro sarcastically questioned. “Well I can tell you for one thing it is not Lottie that’s distracting me I can tell you that much.” Pietro’s bitterness was still there.   
“Pietro…” Wanda began.  
“Forget it,” Pietro stopped her. He didn’t want to think about it; what had happened, happened and there was nothing he could do to take back his sisters mistake. Scanning his surroundings Pietro made sure that they were alone. “Are you ready?” Wanda slightly nodded and grabbed both of their backpacks in her arms. The best method they figured out was that Pietro would piggy-back on Pietro with the bags on her back. That way he could still use his arms and be faster.   
Wanda jumped on his back and buckled the backpacks to her using the straps; she felt light on his back. Pietro drew in a couple of deeps breaths- and then took off like a bullet.   
~  
When he was running Pietro it wasn’t as if everything was passing him in a blink of an eye- it was more as if everything else around him was going slower. When running past a car he would see the driver in the seat not even react to him running past- that’s if they could actually see him. It was a different way to see the world.   
After what seemed like an hour Pietro had to stop; his legs felt like they were going to turn into jelly, his breathing was heavy and ragged and he could feel his heart pumping at a dangerous rate. They stopped on the side of a road and Pietro fell into the grass letting his body relax. He laid there in the grass squinted at the sky, the sun was getting lower and the air started to cool down. He could wait at least another hour before running again.   
“Where… are… we?” Pietro breathed out when he could finally managed words.   
“Just outside of Warsaw.” Wanda answered as she reached into their bag and pulled out the food she had packed. She brought out a container of food and set it by him- he didn’t really care what it was he just needed something in his stomach- it felt like it was eating itself. He opened up the lid and started pouring the food into his mouth-it tasted like rice mixed with a bit of meat, he really didn’t want to think of what the meat actual was.   
“We’ll go again in about an hour- until then rest.” Wanda laid down on the ground and used her backpack as a pillow. Easy for her to say- she wasn’t carrying herself and running.   
With his body vibrating it took him a minute to get totally calm. He didn’t feel like sleeping- partly because he couldn’t fall asleep and the other part was that he didn’t want to fall asleep. The dream he had scared the living hell out of him and he didn’t feel like going through it again. Finally after battling with his fatigue, he allowed himself to close his eyes and let his mind wondered.   
First he thought about what he and Wanda would if they killed Stark- what would they do after. It seemed odd, they had spent most of their lives knowing that they wanted to kill Stark, but know that the time was almost upon them- it worried Pietro about what they were going to do after. They really wouldn’t have a purpose or a mission. The thought of not having a goal made his head hurt.   
Then his thoughts wondered to Lottie and what she was doing. Maybe she was touring the city by herself. What if she got lost and couldn’t find her way back? What if he got attacked again? He was worried sick about her- he knew she was smarter than that; but the thought sat uneasy with him making his stomach tie itself in a knot.   
After what seemed only like a few minutes Wanda shook him.   
“Time to go.” She already had her backpack on. Pietro sat up and stuffed the last of the food into his mouth. Even though his muscles ached he knew that he still had a lot more to go. He stretched and wiggled out his body getting it loose. Wanda grabbed his bag and then jumped on his back.   
He took a deep breath and then took off again.  
~  
The second time he was running he felt a little faster; now he was awake and ready to move. Every second he wanted to go faster- he faster they got the Berlin, the faster he would be able to stop and go back home.   
While in different countries Wanda and Pietro really didn’t mind people seeing their powers; one because they would probably never see said people and again and second the people who did thought they had just taken too much of their said medication.   
Pietro knew the key to going faster was to get him angry. And not just ‘I’m mad and I can calm down whenever’ the angry that you get when you feel your heart pump harder and your body feels like its vibrating- when he got that mad… he nearly doubled his speed.  
He racked of things that mad him angry. People stopping in the middle of the street to talk, slow walkers, annoying teenagers. The thoughts mad him more annoyed than angry.   
Ok, now thing of things that would make you scream: Wanda getting hurt. He snorted out an angry breath and kept running. He had been meaning to build up his endurance. Your parents dying. Tony Stark. Pietro could feel the tightness in his chest- a burning. Wanda hurt Lottie. Lottie… Finally he was running at a speed he had never hit. He couldn’t even see his legs, was he going the speed of sound- he heard things but they seemed delayed. He heard Wanda give a little shriek as he continued to get a little faster and a little faster.   
“Stop!” Wanda finally screamed. Pietro found it hard to stop running, it was like his legs were on a motor or something. After a few seconds he started to slow himself down until he was just jogging. Finally he stopped and fell down into grass. Wanda rolled beside him, she sat up on her knees and threw up.   
“Don’t… ever,” she spat out. “Run that fast again.” She sat there clutching her stomach. Pietro couldn’t help but smirk just a bit- not enough to make himself feel guilty. Pietro felt like he was his insides were going to jump out of his body- he could feel his heart pumping like no other, his leg were twitching and he could feel the blood pump to his brain.   
Wanda finally got up and starting walking. Still lying on the ground Pietro looked and saw that he had put them in some sort of field. In the distance he saw a figure walking up to Wanda; not wanting for the stranger to think she was along, he got up (no matter how mad he still was), he got up and walked beside her.   
“Excuse me,” Wanda stumbled up to the man. “Where exactly are we in relation to Berlin?”  
“What are ya doing? You younglings drunk or something?” He noticed how Wanda looked sick and Pietro was sweating like he had just been beside a volcano.   
“No, just lost.” Wanda got her hands ready for some manipulation.   
“Well, you’re about an hour just outside of Berlin, this is Müncheberg.” The man easily told them, Wanda lowered her hand.   
“Thank you.” Wanda said and then turned away. The man gave them one final look and then went on his way.   
Wanda came to were Pietro was standing and sat down, he fell straight back beside her.  
“I think we deserve some down time.” Wanda leaned back on her hands.  
“We? The only thing you did was throw up.” Pietro sarcastically remarked. Wanda gave a slight smile and together they warmed themselves in the setting sun.


	6. Berlin

Pietro didn’t know what he expected Germany to be like; although it didn’t look like his country. The buildings were taller and more modern, the streets were filled with cars and people walked passed you without even looking at you. 

He and his sister wondered through the streets like lost puppies, they didn’t know where to turn. They somehow ended up in the middle of the city where there was almost too much to take in; lights were everywhere you turned, people going from one place to another pushing past, cars beeping, people talking- the energy of the city was amazing. Pietro felt it in his chest, he felt like he was vibrating. 

Turning to Wanda he saw her staring at a flashing billboard across the street. At first he couldn’t understand what was on the screen and then he saw the famous name: Tony Stark. 

“Tomorrow,” Wanda whispered. Pietro heard the absolute disgust and hatred in her voice, he wondered if he should be happy or frightened. They stared at the lights and stood there for a bit before Pietro finally tore his sister away. They walked aimlessly in the streets not knowing what they should do next. With no money or really anything to trade Pietro knew he was going to have to swipe some food for them. He saw several things that he would love to stuff his face with- pies, cookies, cupcakes, chocolate; although he knew he would have to get them something better to eat.

Wanda seemed oddly distance after they left the main square (well more distant than she already was). Another side-effect of her having the types of powers that they did was that her emotions were a lot stronger than normal. She felt on a much deeper level, if something happen that would make a normal person angry she was get furious, if she felt sadness she told Pietro it felt like a knife ripping through her heart. And now, her anger towards Tony Stark was a lot more than what Pietro felt for him. 

Finally after walking for a while Pietro finally saw some food he could grab, some fruits on by a vendor that wasn’t really paying attention. Pietro nudged his sister and she saw the vendor and nodded. When they were together and needed to steal food Wanda would usually go up and distract the person so Pietro could run by and grab food with almost no one noticing. 

Wand walked up to the vendor and started browsing the fruit; obviously being the only person at the stand at the moment he looked at her. Pietro stood several feet away and readied himself to run. 

Wanda winked at the man and really caught his attention. She crossed one of her legs behind the other and tapped her foot twice on the ground; it was a signal for Pietro to grab the food, he took off without a second of hesitation. 

He ran and grabbed various fruits for Wanda and him to eat, oranges, apples, pears, peaches; he even managed to get a small watermelon. He ran fast down the street and turned into an alleyway out of the view of anybody. He slumped down on the side of the building and waited for his sister. His stomach grumbled- but he wouldn’t dare eat a bite until Wanda got her first pick.

It was only a couple of minutes before Wanda showed up across from him in the ally. She quickly grabbed the peach and bit into it. 

“Did he see anything?” Pietro asked as he picked up an orange. 

“He just thought some estranged biker was going too fast.” Wanda smiled. Pietro grinned and looked out into the street. 

The sun was disappearing over the horizon. He thought about people like the vendor they just stole food from. Ordinary people who didn’t know about anything paranormal in the world. They didn’t know about things like Pietro and his sister, they thought were myths created by people with creative minds. As he was thinking Wanda pushed herself by Pietro and readied herself for sleep. As he head leaned against the wall Pietro noticed how tired she looked. Of course, they always looked tired but Pietro saw how she looked so much older than they actually were. 

Pietro’s mind couldn’t shut off; one thought lead to another and another and another, it was like a machine that didn’t have an off switch. As the night finally took hold and the sounds of cars and people finally died down and Pietro was left with a night of silence he thought of Lottie. His mind raced about her, he thought of every smile, every moment. And for the first time in his life he cursed himself for having powers, sure he like running and the activeness he always felt; but god damn it his mind wouldn’t let him forget about the one girl he didn’t mind slowing down for. 

~

Wanda was the one that woke up Pietro. She had a pear in her mouth and was stretching getting ready for the day. This was the day they would finally confront Tony Stark after years of planning to seek revenge. Pietro got up and started eating the apple he had stole, today felt like any other day he would wake up on. He was curious on why he didn’t feel amped up, he was going to take his revenge… he should be feeling energized- right?

Looking over at his sister he could feel the energy she was giving off, he wasn’t kidding- he could literally feel the energy that she emitted. She saw the trashcan near them shift slightly as Wanda walked passed it- she was ready. Pietro finished the apple and walked out of the ally. 

Even though it was still early in the morning the city was already bustling with activity. Cars were going every which way, people walking, bikers weaving their way through the crowd. He looked around and saw a mound of people headed towards the building in which Tony Stark would appear, he heard shouting and everyone seemed excited to see Iron Man. 

“Oh they’ll see a show that no one will ever forget.” Wanda mumbled under her breath. Pietro kept his mouth shut, he wanted his sister to be happy and if this was the way to do it, then he would give everything he had. 

An hour passed before they were finally ready to put their plan into action. They both knew they needed to use Wanda’s mind control ability only when they needed to; even though it was power and effective, it would weaken her considerably every time she would use it.

To get into the building they went on top of the roof and let themselves through a door. (The lock was easy enough to break). They entered an attic filled with old shelves and other random things Pietro knew Lottie would love. 

Don’t think about her- get your head out of the clouds. He shook his head and followed his sister. She was silent as a mouse as she crept through the piles of shit littering the floor. Finally she found the exit door in the darkness somehow. 

Opening the door Pietro looked over Wanda’s shoulder and saw they were in a empty hallway, he could hear a roaring crowd in the distance. They went into the hallway and jogged down the hall without a sound. They rounded a corner and held their breath for a second. 

“Shit,” Pietro whispered. In front of them was a security guard at least twice as big as Pietro. The guard took a second to realize that they weren’t allowed here and reach for his teaser; Wanda attempted to get into the guys head but he swatted at her which ended up throwing her against a wall. Pietro felt his blood begin to boil and he ran at the man at full speed knocking him to the ground. Pietro with his speed still rounded back and punch the guy in the nose, he could feel the bone crack underneath his knuckles. The man gave out a yell and Pietro punched him again him the cheek, stomach and then kicked him in the head. He man fell silent and slummed to the side. 

“Are you ok?” Pietro ran over to Wanda who was leaning against a wall. 

“I’m fine…” she stammered. “Let’s just get Stark.” Wanda didn’t wait for Pietro’s response as she stormed off down the hall. Pietro caught up and saw the determined look that she wore. 

Silently they went through the building, taking out anyone they needed to. You’d think that with someone as high-profile as Tony Stark they would have more security; Pietro didn’t like this. 

As they drew closer to the stage they decided to go on the catwalk above the stage to 1-get a better look of the place and 2- to pounce down when they were ready. They found a closet and snuck up it just in time for the show to start.

There were lights and cameras and cheering as Tony Stark- Iron Man, stepped out onto the stage in a regular suit with a big box behind him. The crowd roared in the presence of one of the greatest minds in present day. 

“Why hello German,” Tony smiled and gestured to the crowd which even got them more excited. Tony started into his introduction speech. “You all might know me as different things; Anthony Stark, boy genius; Howard Stark’s son who got the company; or more recently- Iron Man.” He grinned as the crowd cheered. 

“Let’s go…” Wanda leaned over the railing of the catwalk eagerly waiting for the right time. 

“IMPOSTER! ″ They turned to see a rather large man in a black shirt angerily staring at them. Pietro knew in his gut that the guard knew what they had done to his little security guard buddies. 

“Wanda,” Pietro was tugging on his sister sleeve. 

“No Pietro we’ve come too far.” Wanda started to use her magic before she completely went down in a twitching mess. Pietro was shocked to see she had been struck by a taser in the chest. Pietro sprinted at the man who has hurting his sister and tackled him to the ground, punching him not knowing if he hit him or not. 

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Pietro screamed- he didn’t care at this point who heard him. The man quickly pulled up his legs to Pietro’s chest and pushed him off. Pietro flew up in the air and landed by his still disabled sister. He thought without thinking and grabbed the wires and pulled them out of his sister and receiving a slight shock himself in the process. 

“Brother…” Wanda breathed out quietly. 

“We’re going.” Pietro didn’t care about getting Stark- he just wanted to protect his sister. He picked his sister up and was about to take off before a horrible pain shot through his shoulder.

He had been shot- he dropped his sister and fell to the ground in pain. Looking over at his twin he saw that she was slowly falling off the catwalk. Crawling he grabbed her just as she was falling- but only by her wrist. 

Her falling down it pulled on his wounded shoulder and he could feel something tearing that wasn’t suppose to tear. Letting out a painful yell he hear the crowd gasping and pointing.

“What the-hell?” Tony Stark said and looked up. Pietro was looking down and made eye contact; Pietro felt his stomach drop. The man who was responsible for all of his suffering was staring at him and his hanging sister in shock and it almost seemed like… concern almost? 

“Get them!” Pietro heard a voice shout behind him. Shaking his head he pulled his sister back up, grabbed her in his arms and ran.

He went through hallways and stairs and finally through the front door and down the street. He felt himself pump into people and stumble a few times but he didn’t stop running. The bullet hole in his shoulder was oozing blood and his arm was getting weaker by the second; finally he had to stop. 

Half falling- half stumbling Pietro laid his sister down in the grass. By what he saw it looked like they were a couple of miles outside of Berlin now, he could barely make out the sounds of police cars in the distance.

“Wanda… are you okay?” Pietro chocked out the words. His whole body was numb, he could only feel the blood pumping towards his gunshot wound. Wanda looked over and saw that Pietro’s shirt was tinted red. 

“Pietro, what happened?” Wanda lifted herself on her elbow to look down at her brother. 

“Security guards.” Pietro didn’t feel like saying much else. 

“Damn…” Wanda mumbled and took off her belt and tied it at the base of his shoulder to slow the bleeding.  
Pietro just continued to stare up at the sky.


	7. Deal with the Devil

It took a week to get back to their country. It was the worst week of Pietro's life; he had gotten shot, spent 4 days traveling on busses crowded with too many people who got a little too close for comfort, Pietro was basically out of commission on the account he had lost so much blood and running would re-open the wound, and they had little to no money (pick-pocketing what their only source of income).

Wanda had tried to use her powers to make people give her money but they soon realized that there were certain things people valued above all else: money, power and love. No matter how hard Wanda tried, people were just not willing to give up these three things.

Pietro soon became annoyed to how much attention Wanda was suddenly giving him. It was always: what do you need? What can I get you? Want me to change the bandages? He was shot in the shoulder not crawling on the ground with no legs.

When they finally did arrive back Pietro was relieved, finally he could rest in comfort. As they walked down the street he couldn't help himself from looking at the building Lottie had stayed in. It had only been maybe two week but he felt like he hadn't seen her in forever.

"Well that was a bust." Pietro said as they made their way up to their temporary living space.

"I can't believe this happened." Wanda mumbled to herself so softly Pietro could barely hear.

"It's fine Wanda." Pietro had his arm in a make-shift sling to make sure none of the do-it-yourself stitches came out.

"No it's not…" Wanda gritted her teeth. Pietro could feel her power vibration of her power starting to arise.

"Wanda," Pietro tried to approach his sister.

"DON'T YOU GET IT?" Wanda screamed, bottles and trash flew all over the place. "We will never get another chance like that again. We will never be able to get that close to Stark again. That one chance to take our revenge and we blew it! God damn it!" Wanda screamed. Pietro had never seen her this distraught- tears rolling down her eyes, screaming and moving everything around her.

"Sister." Pietro put his good hand on her shoulder and let her calm down; things started to be put back into their place and her red waves disappeared, Pietro heard a faint whimper and sob. "We will get Stark- I promise." Now Pietro wasn't doing it for him anymore- he just wanted Wanda to be happy.

~A WAYS DOWN THE ROAD~

Pietro and Wanda in the laboratory holding hands, all hell was going on outside. The Avengers were attacking their base to retrieve some sort of… scepter? Pietro couldn't really tell what it was, he only heard what the guards were yelling at each other.

This whole thing seemed like a dream- outside was Stark. Yet again near the twins without really realizing it. Ever since that day in Berlin when Pietro was shot he and Wanda had been laying low for a while. They didn't get into any trouble, they didn't talk to anyone really and no one talked to them, Pietro didn't even call Lottie like he had promised, he wasn't sure if he still had the number.

And yet here they were and yet again being attacked by Stark. From the glimpse they saw on the screen he was joined by a guy with a red, white and blue shield, a man who seemed to like his hammer, a huge green monster and a man that out of all things only had a bow and arrow.

Send out the twins. No don't! They know what to do. My men can hold them. Words passed from person to person as they were center of the room. They exchanged a look and they knew what they were thinking- let's go.

Quickly and silently they snuck out of the lab and into the battlefield. They split up- they knew they're attack plan like the back of their hand; Pietro could keep the fighting away from Wanda as she would cause them to crumble from the inside out.

Running through the forest Pietro spotted the man with the bow. Why not have a little fun? Pietro thought. He saw the man draw back his bow and point it to a tank- he pulled and released- of course it was all happening in slow motion to Pietro. He saw his opportunity and ran and grabbed the arrow in midflight- off to the side he saw the man's bewilderment. Again he took another arrow and pulled it back- he let it go and again Pietro grabbed it in before it could hit anything. The man looked angry and confused and reached for another arrow, but not before Pietro knocked him over while running.

While on the ground in the snow Pietro walked passed the man and smirked- obviously he had never seen anything like Pietro before.

"You didn't see that coming?" Pietro grinned and ran off. Then he saw the man with the shield. While running he smiled and ran into him making him do a flip and landing hard in the snow. As he was running away he heard the faint words of: enhancement in the field. He like that- enhancement, technically he was.

Running inside he tried to find his sister and saw her trailing… of all people, Stark. He had found the secret entry way into the lab that Pietro had dreaded going into. There was a huge lizard, space, dinosaur thing hanging from the ceiling; and in the middle was a staff that had a blue pulsing light inside of it. Pietro never like the feeling he would get while walking passed it; it almost seemed to whisper in your ear the horrible things you could do with that power.

Pietro came up and saw his sister tucked away in the shadows behind Stark, it was an oddity to him. He thought that after Berlin Wanda would strangle Stark if she had the chance, but no… this time she had just played with his head. He was stumbling around and shook his head snapping out of it. A faint gasp from Wanda indicated that she was surprised how fast he got out of her illusion.

Stark walked closer to the scepter and held out his hand, seconds later a metal hand flew into the room and covered it. Quickly he grabbed it and looked into the blue light with curiosity.

"We are just going to let them take it?" Pietro was a little ticked off. They had spent years trying to find Stark the first time and blew their chance when they had it, and now he was standing right in front of them still half hypnotized and they were just going to let him walk away with a powerful source of energy- it seemed stupid to Pietro. But Wanda held up her hand and he knew she had a plan. He trusted her and watched Stark and the other Avenger climb into a plane and make off.

Pietro and Wanda didn't go back to the lab after the Avengers raided it. They went back to their 'home' if that's what you could call it. Before they started with Hydra they were living in an abandoned bakery that they would often retreat back to when they got sick of Hydras shit. It was only a few miles away from where their childhood town was.

It had been several years since they had left their old town. Politics started to flare up and having two super-humans in your town didn't help, so they reluctantly left. It was a little harder for Pietro than it was for Wanda, it had been years but there was always a small part of him that thought if he stayed…

He shook the uncompleted thought out of his mind. He wasn't in the mood to think of things in his past- the future was now and it was happening. The Avengers knew they were there and were there to bargain with.

He and Wanda laid around the abandoned bakery and thought of what to do next. His sister was mumbling to herself as she sat in a chair and tapped her foot; he, himself however, was laying down on a crappy couch they had found in an ally.

"We need to go directly to them." Wanda said out of the blue.

"Like infiltrate the Avengers facility?" Pietro asked without getting up from his couch; the idea sounded good- but mostly crazy. "You want to try and get into a building that Stark built?"

"We can try." Wanda sounded flustered.

"Do I have to remind you what happened last time we tried to get into a building with Stark in it?" Pietro rubbed his shoulder out of habit, there was now a nice sized scar on his shoulder. He heard his sister growl a bit- that was part of their lives they were willing to forget.

Suddenly without warning a flying robot smashed through a window and fell to the ground. Jumping up Pietro looked at the sparking robot and saw it had the all too familiar Avenger's A on it- one of Starks again.

"If you want you're revenge- come to the church tonight." The robot said in an husky and dark voice; it's lighted eyes went out and it laid limp on the ground.

Wanda and Pietro shared a look and they both nodded their heads. They prepared to meet this mystery of a being tonight.

Coming up to the church it was surrounded by cops pushing people back. Easily Pietro and his sister avoided them- they had become expects during their years on the streets.

Entering the church Pietro grew uneasy- there was something off, almost like an uneasy vibe that seemed to radiate through the place. Pietro stayed slightly in front of Wanda to make sure everything was safe. They saw in the middle of the church was a man- covered in a cloak with his back facing them.

"Talk," Wanda was direct and quick with the man. "And if you are wasting our time-"

"Did you know that this church is in the exact center of the city?" the man's voice was odd- it was powerful but almost unhuman. "The elders created it so everyone would be equally close to God." Carefully they inched closer to the covered man. "I like that- the geometry of belief." Pietro could see metal in the dim lighting in the room- was this a half-man, half-robot? Was it one of Stark's suits? "You're wondering why you can't see inside my head." Pietro looked at Wanda- was she already picking at his brain to see what he was thinking?

"Sometimes its hard- but sooner or later every man shows himself." Wanda walked a little closer, her eyes had the slightest tint of red in them.

"Oh I'm sure they do." The thing stood up in front of them and had the cloak slide off of him. Stepping back to him Wanda looked in shock at the robot; standing before them was an 8 foot metal man with red eyes and a sinister smile. "But I am something more than a man. That's why you let Stark take the scepter."

"I did…" Wanda managed to say. "But I didn't expect," she nodded towards the giant robot standing in front of them. "But I saw Stark's fear. I knew it would control him. Make him self-destruct." Pietro had never seen his sister like this, sure she was always clever and cunning and sneaky but this was on a whole other level.

"Everyone creates the thing they dread." The voice rang off the walls and raddled Pietro to the core. "Men of peace create engines of war; invaders create Avengers; people create…" he stopped for a second. "Smaller people… uh- children! I lost the word." Although Pietro hadn't said anything, he didn't like this new robot or whatever- he seemed to human to be a robot. "Design to supplant them… and to help them end.

"Is that why you've come?" Wanda questioned. "To end the Avengers?"

"I've come to save the world!" his voice was full of pride. "And so… yeah." The motioned for them to follow. After a brief moment of hesitation Pietro and Wanda followed him.

"The names Ultron by the way." He said as they walked. Ultron. Pietro thought. The name itself was unsettling.

After walking for quite a distance they ended up back in the Hydra base that the Avengers attacked not just a day ago. Ultron led them to the basement to show them what he was working on.

"We'll move out right away- this is just a start to what we need to begin the real work." Ultron gestured to the machines around them.

"So these are…" Wanda trailed off.

"Me," Ultron cut her off. "I will have what the Avengers never will-harmony. Their discountenance, disconnected- Stark already has them turning on each other. And when you get inside the rest of their heads…"

"Everyone's plan is not to kill them." Pietro finally spoke up- he was getting really tired of hearing Ultron talk.

"And to make them martyrs-you need patience." It was a small jab at Pietro (who for the record didn't have an excellent history with patience). "We need to see the big picture."

"I don't see the big picture," Pietro stated. "I have a little picture… I take it out and look at it every day."

"You lost your parents in the bombings- I've seen the records." Ultron informed them.

"The records are not the pictures." Pietro began to think of his parents- which he rarely every did.

"Pietro," Wanda put her hand on him.

"We were 10 years old." He reminded her. He was full of dormant rage. He quickly explained how the shell hit killing their parents and the second one hit- not going off; leaving them trapped for two days with a bomb right in front of them not knowing if it was going to go off or not. "There was one word painted on the side."

"Stark." Wanda finished the sentence for him. "Every shift we thought was going to set it off." Wanda's voice was full of the horrible memories.

"I know what they are." Pietro nodded.

"We will make it right." Ultron promised. "You and I can hurt them." He referred to Pietro. "But you," he looked at Wanda. "Will tear them apart."

Pietro just felt like he had made a deal with the devil.


	8. A Million Miles to Zero

Pietro was now Sokovia, a country that reminded him much of his native one, Sokovia and Transia were right next to each other, Sokovia being even smaller than Transia. It was just the same with the small towns and rich culture that was apparent all around them. He and his sister had just gotten back from talking with Ultron and a feeling like a brick laid in his stomach.

He knew that if he wanted his revenge on Stark he would have to work with Ultron, but he didn't like it. Ultron was... unnatural, and that was coming from a mutant. Artificial intelligence? Now that was something else. Pietro and Wanda walked through the town undetected and made their way back to the bakery where they were temporarily living; it was dark and damp but it still held the smell of bread, cakes, fruit and so much more that made staying there worth it.

Pietro sat down in the bakery for maybe 10 minutes before he went out again.

"Where do you think you are going?" Wanda didn't look up from the book she had inches from her face.

"I'm going to walk around a bit." Pietro always hated when Wanda would act like his mother- trying to tell him what to do.

"Actual walking?" Wanda raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I'm uneasy and just need to get out of this place right now." He was going to do that but there were other plans he had in mind.

"Alright- just don't be too long. We need to discuss what we are going to do once we meet up with Ultron again." Pietro rolled his eyes and headed out the door to met a friend.

Pietro walked down Main street taking several lefts and rights until he ended up behind an old movie theater. He waited for several minutes before his friend showed up.  
Pietro always referred to him as his friend but really he was a dealer. Not a drug dealer but one that would bring Pietro medicine, toys, cloths, book and anything else Pietro knew the town needed. The man would sell it to him and then Pietro would return and give everyone what they needed- including some presents from time to time. Why he didn't tell Wanda he wasn't sure but this made him feel normal, accepted even. Wanda was always the one who was warier of the outside world and to a point he agreed with her, but he couldn't lock himself up as she often did.

Pietro gathered the stolen money he had picked off a CEO-looking guy earlier today and paid the man. After, with his arms full of goodies headed to town square where he would meet his regular clients.

"Here you go, there is your medicine." Pietro handed an elderly couple several bottles of medicine that had been in shortage recently. The protests and wars had come to Sokovia making it hard to import supplies, especially rare medicine like this couple required.

"And for your brother," he turned to a young woman who he had seen several times in the past weeks, he handed her several toys including a ball and a card game. "This however," he next pulled out a sparkly gold dress and held it up to her as she blushed. "Is not for your brother." He smirked and gave it to her. He was going to try and ask her for dinner but something stopped him.

A feeling came over him that he had not felt in quite a while. He closed his mouth with his unspoken invitation and walked away much to the girls disappointment. Pietro walked away and into the night not having a destination.

He recounted the last couples of years since his last encounter with Stark in Berlin; since then they had traveled into Turkey, Poland and many more countries. Wanda thought it was for sightseeing but for Pietro, it brought him closer to Lottie. He still remembered the way she lit up whenever she talked about traveling the world. Pietro couldn't count the number of time he had thought of her, though about calling that number and asking if he could come to America- with her...

But, he was not the same person he was at 19, something inside him had dimmed out, he was much colder, sharper and reckless than he had ever been. Now, after seeing Stark and fighting with the Avengers for the first time, his emotions were all over the place.

Pietro continued walking until he found himself at the footsteps of a church. He remembered the day on the hill when he took both Lottie and Wanda with him and what Wanda had done to her. Those horrible screams and her begging for someone not to go was excruciating to listen to. He wondered what the Avengers deepest fears were, or if they had any.

Finally after what seemed like half the night Pietro made his way back to the bakery to find his sister sleeping with the book on her chest with the candle beside her slowly burning out. He covered her with a blanket and blew out the candle. He laid down on his own blanket and looked up at the store ceiling which had a hole, no bigger than his fist, but it was enough to see stars shinning through. He stared up at them until his eyelids couldn't hold themselves up and he slept.  
                                                                                                                                                   ~  
Wakanda.

That was the country Ultron ordered them to. He needed a metal called vibranium for his project. Pietro wasn't exactly sure what the project was but he and Wanda went and met up with a man who traded the metal. Pietro and Wanda talked to him for a bit, Pietro stole some candy, Ultron cut somebody's arm off.

Then all hell broke loose.

The Avengers showed up and a fight pursued. Wanda was going around causing all the Avengers to realize their worst nightmares. Pietro was running around pushing and shoving all the Avengers until he made the (unfortunate) choice of trying to grab a flying hammer- needless to say as soon as he grabbed the handle, the hammer seem to fall straight to the ground in midflight taking Pietro with it.  
The rest of the fight was a blur. Pietro saw Stark and Ultron flying around, Wanda was slowly getting around to all of the Avengers and Ultron's mini-me's were loading up the vibranium. It was fueling Pietro- he liked it when things went fast. However all was well until he saw that old guy from the forest shocked his sister in the head.

He dashed over ignoring everything else and caught his slumping sister as the man fell to the ground. They shared a glance and Pietro was gone- carrying Wanda to safety outside of the battle. He sat her down until her regained her bearings.

"We should go." Pietro insisted, "Ultron has what he needs."

"No," she let out a heavy breath and he saw an expression that he hadn't seen come over his sister since she tormented Lottie- a look that was a mixture of hate, determination and boiling anger- it looked sinister. "I want the big one." Following her gaze he saw what she was staring at.  
A middle aged man, in (of all things) a gray sweater staring out from the jet. Pietro felt his heart tighten- it was Hulk.

It took a maximum of 15 seconds after Wanda flicked her hand at the man's head before he started yelling, and it got deeper, and he grew until he was a standing 12 foot tall green monster with red in his eyes.

He took off with a bounding leap and started fucking shit up.  
After that, they vanished again, this time to Korea.

                                                                                                                                                    ~  
"I don't like it." Pietro commented to his sister as they walked up for their meeting with Ultron yet again.

"You don't like a lot of things Pietro." Wanda scoffed.

"I mean Ultron's plan. What that man turned into- what he did to the town..." Pietro faded his sentence.

"Are you saying you're afraid of what happened to him once I screwed with his mind?" Wanda quickly turned around to face her brother. If there was one thing that Pietro knew Wanda hated it was that she hated people being afraid of her. Pietro knew her greatest fear was that she would always be seen as a monster, even by him.

"Wanda, what he did to that town with those people, think about how many lives he's changed forever." Wanda didn't budge. "Think about all the children who lost a parent." That made Wanda look down.

"We're late for our meeting." she took off down the hallway they were traveling. Eventually it opened up to a room filled with scientist and Ultron standing over what looked like a metal coffin.

"Ah you're here." Ultron gave what Pietro guessed a robot grin looked like. "This..." he patted the metal coffin. "Is the future me."

"A body?" Wanda asked as she slowly went over to the top of it.

"Yes, a new me that won't be confined to these metal parts." Ultron stated as he looked at his hand. Wanda carefully placed her hands on the top of the metal coffin and jolted. She let out a horrified scream and drew back into Pietro's arms.

"You..." she stammered. "You are going to annihilate everyone." Her face was plastered with fear as she looked at Ultron.

"Well, not you two- I need you guys." He said cheerfully.

"But we never wanted that," she turned to Pietro. "We only wanted the Avengers gone."

"Humanity as a whole is hopeless. We have to save them from themselves." And with that Pietro picked up his sister and left. He was tempted to turn back when he heard the scientist being murdered. He went to find the only man he knew that wouldn't shoot them on sight- Captain America.

The First Avenger himself wasn't that hard to find- he was on a speeding train that was about to derail at any second. Wanda and Pietro showed up eager.

"We're here to help." Pietro said as soon as he stopped. Wanda nodded her head as well and the Captain gave them an unsure look that probably would have lasted longer if not for the train derailing and about to blare through the crowded streets.

"Can you get people out of the way?" Cap turned to Pietro who whizzed out of the train without a hesitation. He knew Wanda was going to stop the breaks, he just had to run fast for less than a minute to save lives.

Pietro probably accidentally touch a boob or a butt there but with a 2 ton train coming at them he didn't think they really cared. He saw the terrified faces of men, woman and children as he forced them to the side. The screaming brakes of the train filled Pietro's ears.

Only a few more seconds. Pietro repeated in his head. He didn't think he could even reach this speed- every part of him was vibrating, his eyes watered as he stopped, moved a person and then tried to catch up with the train. Finally he saw the train slow to a stop and he sat down.

Wanda came over to him with concern but he assured her he was fine. His heart felt like a humming bird's wings. He thought nothing could stop it for a while.

Until he heard her voice.

"Pietro?" he turned around and saw one of the people he had pushed out of the way. Her long, glossy black hair was pulled in a bun on top of her head, her cloths were covered in road dust, and she still had that same old over the shoulder bag he remembered all those years ago.

"Lottie..."


End file.
